Saturday, January 11, 2014

it's a question of allure

So I was rethinking the Rodarte Spring '14 RTW collection and I am SUCH. A. DUMB. BUTT. I don't know how I didn't see it before, I think it's because I didn't have or think about the same influences that I do now, but now I am on the Mulleavy train more than because they are absolute geniuses. 

Observe:


(tacky = i.e. what would be considered tacky on a personal level or compared to our current standards of "trendiness")

I used to really like Axl Rose and it hurt so much to type the words, but the fact that there's an article saved on my computer named "18 Reasons Why Axl Rose is the Biggest Douchebag" makes up for it. (Also, a diehard Nirvana fan liking Axl Rose ends up being problematic. And Guns N Roses.....not worth it.) His influence on this is very obvious in a way that kills me but also makes me proud of myself for knowing this, for some reason. The entire glam/hair metal  scene that ended up essentially parodying itself (causing the birth/uprising of grunge and Our Lord and Savior Kurt ft. Eddie Vedder's heavier than heaven voice that kind of sounds the same in everything but still)  and I feel like the collection is a play on that, in a way. But at the same time, given the Mulleavy sister's California roots and the fact that they incorporate their home state into the majority of their work seems like this is their way of telling history through their work. The fact that so many people are saying, "Do I really want to wear this? Like, realllllllllllly, do I want to wear this fringe skirt? What is this? Is this the 'November Rain' video? Will this turn me into Axl trudging through the snow in shorts and a fur cape?" is SO GOOD because all we do is cut up history and paste the pretty parts into our lives, the ones that fit in perfectly and don't require too many questions. I mean, you can buy a dress and Mary Janes and associate it with kinderwhore but what is underneath all of the smeared lipstick smiles and parodied childishness/ideals is rawness that not that many people want to touch. (I'M SORRY FOR THE '90s REFERENCES IN A POST ABOUT THE 1980s) (I'm not) But back to the 1980s-sorry, Kate and Laura-if we are going to return to these past decades, then we have to acknowledge the parts that make us think, the ones that make some people wonder if that's how they want to look, if that's really what they want to wear. 

More parts of the collection: animal print, the use of flannel (more of an allusion to the Sunset Strip scene than the '90s which most people associate it with), constant use of fringe, leather, baseball caps, chola culture, padded shoulder blazers, denim, color scheme of gray/blue/white/black/brown/red, metallics, lines 

   
   

(Sorry if the moodboard is badly made, when it's 3:17 AM my sense of judgment tends to be pretty fuzzy)

The outfit based on this will go up later, or I'll just edit it in! I have to go to bed now because 1) it's important that I have the energy to act like a human being and 2) I am finally-finally-going to see Blue is the Warmest Color today, so I have to make sure that I have the willpower to consume 179 minutes of subtitles. Tell me what you think of this collection! 

-Britney

(EDIT: Sorry for the bad layout of this post! It's been like that for a while, I'm working on fixing it.)

3 comments:

  1. Can't wait to see the brewed outfit!
    (Go to sleep. Now.)
    Miriam

    ReplyDelete
  2. lovely! Please check out my new blog! xo
    -Maggie

    ReplyDelete